Fastening and sealing means for containers



May 4, 1965 a. K. PARKER FASTENING AND SEALING MEANS FOR CONTAINERS Filed May 1, 1962 b 5 nu Q B 43645 1 1 a a R 5 2 w 1 h u 2 mm M1 2 5645 7 a. B I m Q H \WM/MVQ 1 I.I 2m w 1/ 4N 1 .Z a a i INVENTOR. GEORGE K- PARKER )8 JIM ATTORNEY United States Patent "ice 3,181,726 FASTENING AND SEALING MEANS FUR CONTAINERS George K. Parker, Woodside, Calif. (1649 Old County Road, gait Carlos, San Mateo County,

alif.) Filed May 1, 1962, Ser. No. 191,466 16 Claims. (Cl. 220-46) This application is a continuation-in-part of my patent application entitled Closure Means for Containers, filed July 20, 1961, Serial No. 125,491, now Patent No. 3,088,623, granted May 7, 1963.

This invention relates to fastening and sealing means for containers.

The primary object of this invention is to provide improved means for holding two (2) complementary container sections in closed positions with respect to each other so moisture cannot enter.

My invention contemplates the provision of continuous metal strips on the edges of upper and lower hollow container sections, such strips having complementary sealing devices which are adapted to be held in contacting relationship with each other by means of adjustable clamps. In accordance with my invention, a plurality of clamps are attached by releasable and adjustable means to the metal strip of one of the container sections, such clamps having contractile members adapted to be attached to the metal strip of the other container section, thereby making it feasible to draw the sealing devices of the strips into sealing relationship with each other so moisture cannot enter the container.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be pointed out hereinafter or will be indicated in the appended claims or will be obvious to one skilled in the art upon an understanding of this disclosure. For the purpose of this application, I have elected to show herein certain forms and details of a fastening and sealing means for containers which is representative of my invention. It is to be understood, however, that the embodiment of my invention herein shown and described is for purposes of illustration only, and that therefore it is not to be regarded as exhaustive of the variations in the art.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container or case having the fastening and sealing means embodying my invention applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating the way the clamp means is attached to one of the metal strips;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the clamp means, showing parts broken away and in section;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the bracket plate.

The container embodying my invention comprises two (2) complementary hollow sections, herein identified as lower section 1 and upper section 2, such sections having sides 1a and 2a, respectively, which are adapted to be arranged with the lower edges of the sides 2a of the upper section positioned directly above and in opposed relationship to the upper edges of the sides In of the lower section.

Secured to and extending over the upper edges of the sides 1a of the lower section 1 is a continuous or perimetric female metal strip or edging 3 having opposed continu ous outer and inner walls or sides 4 and 5 forming a groove within which the upper edge portions of the sides 1a are positioned. The sides 1a are inwardly deflected to have a perimetric inwardly disposed shoulder 1b, against relationship at the sides of the container.

3,181,726 Patented May 4, 1965 which a continuous outwardly disposed flange St: on the side 5 of the female strip abuts normally to hold such female strip securely attached to the sides 1a of the lower container section. Lodged in the groove formed between the sides 4 and 5 of the female strip 3 is a continuous sealing member 6 against which the upper edge of the sides 1a of the container section 1 firmly abuts to exclude moisture from the container. The female strip 3 is formed with a continuous gt'oove 7 which is open from above and which holds a continuous sealing strip or member 8. The lower edge of the outer Wall 4 of the female strip 3 extends outwardly and upwardly as at 9 to provide a continuous groove 10 serving as a way to receive one side or edge of the later described bracket plate, and similarly, the upper edge of the such female strip extends outwardly and downwardly as at 11 to provide a continuous groove or way 12. The flanges 9 and 11 are parallel to each other, defining between them an elongated plate-receiving recess, and the opposed continuous grooves 10 and 12 formed thereby face one another. While the outwardly disposed portions of flanges 9 and 11 are substantially the same in width, the upwardly extending portion of the flange 9 is somewhat wider than the downwardly extending portion of the flange 11.

Secured to the lower edges of the upper container section 2 is a continuous or perimetric male strip or edging 13 having opposed outer and inner walls 14 and 15 forming a continuous groove within which the lower edge portions of the sides 2a of the upper container section 2 are lodged. The sides 2a have a perimetric inwardly disposed shoulder 2b formed as an inward deflection of the sides 2a against which a continuous outwardly disposed flange 15a on the side 15 of the male strip abuts normally to hold such male strip securely attached to the sides 2a of the upper container section. Lodged in the groove formed between the sides 14 and 15 of the male strip is a continuous sealing member 16 against which the lower edge of the sides 2a of the upper container section firmly abuts to exclude moisture from the container. The upper edge portion of the outer wall 14 of the male strip 13 extends outwardly and upwardly to provide a continuous flange 17, the purpose of which will be presently described. The lower portion of the male strip 13 is substantially V- shaped in cross-section, and when the upper section 2 is superimposed on the lower section 1, the lower edge of the strip 13 is adapted to engage with the resilient sealing strip 8 to exclude air or moisture from the container.

The female strip 1 is formed with a perimetric groove or open channel 18 which is positioned between and in parallel relationship to the outwardly disposed portions of the flanges 9 and 11.

The complementary hollow sections 1 and 2 are adapted to be securely held in inverted positions, tightly closing the container by a plurality of clamps connected to the male and female strips and arranged in suitably spaced Each of the clamps includes a bracket plate or member 19 having a width greater than the distance between the opposed inturned edges of the flanges 9 and 11 of the female strip 1 but narrower than the opposed outwardly disposed portions of such flanges, i.e., the distance between the bases of the grooves 10 and 12. More specifically, the width of the bracket plate 19 is such that the lower and upper edge portions of such plate may be lodged within the opposed grooves 10 and 12 by first placing the lower outwardly bent edge portion 19a of the plate within the groove 10 and then positioning the upper edge of such plate so that it will be lodged in the groove 12 when the plate is shifted upwardly. The width of the upturned edge portion of the flange 9 is such that the lower outwardly bent edge portion 19a of the plate will still be positioned in the groove 10 and in engagement with the said edge portion of the flange after the upward adjustment of the plate. The plate 19 is formed with inwardly projecting resilient tongues 29 which are so positioned with respect to the upper and lower edges of the plate that their free ends will project into the groove 18 when the plate is in its upwardly adjusted position. When attaching the plate 19 to the female strip, it is necessary to use sufficient pressure in forcing the plate inwardly against the spring resistance of the tongues to permit the upper edge of the said plate to slip into the groove 12 as the plate is shifted upwardly. When the tongues 20 are thereby tensioned, the plate will be urged outwardly to bring the upper and lower edges of such plate into firm engagement with the upwardly and downwardly extending edge portions of the flanges 11 and 9, respectively. The frictional engagement of the plate with the flanges 9 and 19 together with the firm engagement of the free ends of the tongues 20 with the female strip at points within the groove 18 normally prevents either the lateral or the up and down displacement of the plate on the strip. The plate 19 may be detached from the female strip 1 by alternately forcing the tongues 20 outwardly with a small screwdriver and at the same time adjusting the plate downwardly to free the tongues from the longitudinal groove 13 in the female strip. The bracket plate 19 is provided at its ends with outwardly disposed parallel bracket flanges or arms 21 which are arranged in opposed parallel relationship with respect to each other. Pivotally connected at points between its ends as at 22, 22 to the flanges 21 of the bracket plate 19 is a lever member 23 which is preferably U-shaped in horizontal cross-section. Pivotally connected at its lower end to a pivot pin 24 carried on the lower end of the lever 23 is a clamp member or arm 25 having a hook portion 23:: on its upper end which is adapted to hook onto the flange 17 of the male strip 2. The clamp member 25 is made from flexible material such as sheet steel, and by forming it with a certain curvature as shown in FIG. 2, the said clamp member is in the nature of a spring which, when the lever member is swung upwardly, causes the free end of such lever member to snap inwardly as the pivot pin 24 passes outwardly from a dead center position with respect to the pivots 22, 22. Thus, when the lever member is swung upwardly to its clamping position, the upper end thereof will be normally maintained in a position engaging with the male strip. The length of the clamp member 25 is such that when its hook portion 25a is connected to the flange 1'7 of the male strip 13 and the lever 23 is swung upwardly from a downwardly extending position, such clamp member will be pulled downwardly to bring the lower edge of the male strip into firm engagement with the resilient sealing strip 8. There are preferably one or more clamps arranged at each of the four (4) sides of the container, and when each of said clamps is adjusted as described above, the male and female strips 3 and 13 will be securely held in clamped positions with the upper section 2 securely held on the lower section 1 and the joint between the strips sealed to prevent moisture or outside air from entering the container. Whenever one of the clamps becomes damaged and needs to be replaced, the bracket plate thereof may be easily detached from the female strip 3 by releasing the tongues 20 from the groove 18 and then shifting the plate downwardly to a position in which it may be disengaged from the flanges 9 and 11 of the female strip.

What I claim is:

1. In fastening and sealing means for containers of the type having upper and lower complementary hollow sections formed with opposed edges, a continuous female strip secured over the edges of one of the container sections, a continuous male strip secured over the edges of the other container section and having a continuous outwardly and upwardly disposed flange, the female strip having a continuous groove facing the male strip, a continuous resilient sealing strip supported in the groove of the female strip, the male strip having a lower edge portion adapted to extend into the groove of the female strip and engage with the sealing strip, the female strip having an outwardly and downwardly extending continuous flange and also an outwardly and upwardly continuous fiange, the said flanges of the female strip forming opposed continuous grooves, the female strip having a perimetric groove on its outer side between the flanges thereof, a. plurality of bracket plates having upper and lower edge portions extending into the opposed grooves of the female strip, and resilient tongue means on the bracket plate extending into the perimetric groove of the female strip, a pair of outwardly extending flanges on each of the bracket plates, and adjustable clamping means mounted on the flanges of the bracket plates, the clamping means having hooks engageable with the flange of the male strip.

2. In fastening and sealing means for containers of the type having upper and lower complementary hollow sections, each section having a closed end and an open end, the container sections being assembled invertedly one upon the other with their respective open ends in opposed relationship, a first perimetric strip secured over the open end of one of the container sections, a second perimetric strip secured over the open end of the other container section, a pair of parallel perimetric flanges extending outwardly from the first strip and toward each other and forming opposed grooves, the first strip having a perimetric open channel positioned between the flanges of the first strip, a plurality of bracket plates removably mounted on the first strip and arranged with edge portions thereof extending into the opposed grooves, tensioned resilient members projecting from the bracket plates and releasably lodged in the perimetric channel of the first strip, and a plurality of adjustable clamps carried on the bracket plates and having extensible and contractile members releasably connected to the first perimetric strip, the clamps being adjustable to apply pressure on the strips toward each other.

3. In fastening and sealing means for containers of the type having upper and lower complementary hollow sections, each section having a closed end and an open end, the container sections each having a closed end and an open end, the container sections being assembled invertedly one upon the other with their respective open ends in opposed relationship, a first perimetric strip secured over the Open end of one of the container sections, a second perimetric strip secured over the open end of the other container sect-ion and having outwardly projecting flange means thereon, a pair of vertically spaced parallel flanges extending outwardly from the first strip and toward each other and forming opposed grooves, the first strip having an open channel positioned between and in substantially parallel relation to the pair of flanges, a plurality of brackets mounted detachably on the first strip at the sides of the container, the brackets having projecting portions extending into the opposed grooves, the brackets having tensioned resilient members projecting into the channel and engaging with the first strip, adjustable clamps carried on the brackets and having extensible and contractile members releasably connected to the flang means of the second strip.

4. In fastening means for containers of the type having upper and lower complementary hollow sections, each section having a closed end and an open end, the container sections being assembled invertedly one upon the other with their respective open ends in opposed relationship, a first perimetric strip secured over the open end of one of the container sections, a second perimetric strip secured over the open end of the other container section and having outwardly projecting flange means thereon, a pair of vertically spaced parallel flanges extending outwardly from the first strip and toward each other and forming opposed grooves, the first strip having an open channel positioned between and in substantially parallel relation to the pair of flanges, a plurality of brackets mounted detachably on the first strip at the sides of the container,

the brackets having projecting portions extending into the opposed grooves, the brackets having resilient and tensioned members projecting into the channel, a lever member pivotally carried on each bracket, and an adjustable clamp member connected to an end of each lever member and having a hooked end detachably connected to the flange means of the second strip.

5. The combination comprising a pair of parallel first and second strips attachable to edge extents of container sections and adapted to be releasably interconnected, the first of said strips containing a recess defined at its sides by and between a pair of inwardly projecting flanges spaced from the base of the recess to form parallel ways as portions of said recess, a bracket plate initially receivable within said recess by insertion between the flanges to an angular position at which one edge of the plate is accommodated in one of said ways, the plate having between the flanges a transverse dimension greater than the distance between the opposed flange edges, the plate being insertable into the recess beyond said angular position so that the plate becomes shiftable transversely of the flanges to a position in which the plate overlaps the inside surfaces of both flanges, and means for retaining the plate in the last mentioned position.

6. The combination of claim 5, including also latch means attached to the plate and releasably connectable to the second of said strips.

7. The combination of claim 6, in which said retaining means is carried by the plate and is receivable within a groove in the base of said recess.

8. The combination of claim 6, in which said retaining means is carried by said plate and yieldably engages the base of said recess to urge the plate against the flanges.

9. The combination of claim 8, in which said retaining means is receivable and yieldably deflectable within a groove in the base of said recess.

10. The combination of claim 8, in which said recess is elongated and the plate is shiftable longitudinally therein, said yielding means operating to releasably hold the plate against displacement longitudinally of the recess.

11. The combination of claim 10, in which said yielding means comprise resilient tongues projecting angularly and oppositely out of the plate material and engaging the base of the recess, said tongues being deflectable to permit said insertion of the plate beyond said angular position, and the tongue terminal engagements with the recess base acting to hold the plate against said displacement.

1 e i a n o him 11 is wh said tongues are receivable within a groove in the base of said recess by upward shifting of the plate from its initially inserted position.

13. The combination of claim 12, in which one flangeengaging portion of the plate is bent outwardly toward the flange which it engages.

14. The combination comprising a pair of hollow container sections each having perimetrical portions at the section edges adapted to be releasably interconnected, said perimetrical portions being deflected outwardly from the bodies of the sections to form interior perimetrical shoulders, a pair of interengageable parallel strips attached to and extending respectively about said perimetrical portions of the container sections and each containing a groove receiving the respective container edge, sealing strips within the bases of said grooves, said strips having in-turned flanges engaging said container section shoulders to abut the section edges against said sealing strips, one of said strips containing adjacent said deflected portion of the attached container section an elongated recess opening outwardly of the section, said recess being defined by and between a pair of inwardly projecting flanges spaced from the base of the recess to form parallel ways, latch engageable means on the other of said strips adjacent the deflected portion of the attached container section and paralleling said recess, and retaining means received within said recess and releasably engageable with said latch engageable means to hold the container sections together.

15. The combination of claim 14, in which said retaining means comprise bracket plates shiftable longitudinally in said recess, and latch devices carried by said plates and adapted to be releasably applied to said latch engageable means.

16. The combination of claim 14, in which said deflected portions of the container sections define the upper and lower extents of a recess of such depth as to substantially fully contain the portions of said strips exposed exteriorly of the sections.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,803,368 8/57 Koch 220-4 2,939,603 6/60 Young 220-4 3,088,623 5/63 Parker 220-46 3,113,690 12/ 63 Swenck 220- THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. EARLE I. DRUMMOND, Examiner, 

1. IN FASTENING AND SEALING MEANS FOR CONTAINERS OF THE TYPE HAVING UPPER AND LOWER COMPLEMENTARY HOLLOW SECTIONS FORMED WITH OPPOSED EDGES, A CONTINUOUS FEMALE STRIP SECURED OVER THE EDGES OF ONE OF THE CONTAINER SECTIONS, A CONTINUOUS MALE STRIP SECURED OVER THE EDGES OF THE OTHER CONTAINER SECTION AND HAVING A CONTINUOUS OUTWARDLY AND UPWARDLY DISPOSED FLANGE, THE FEMALE STRIP HAVING A CONTINUOUS GROOVE FACING THE MALE STRIP, A CONTINUOUS RESILIENT SEALING STRIP SUPPORTED IN THE GROOVE OF THE FEMALE STRIP, THE MALE STRIP HAVING A LOWER EDGE PORTION ADAPTED TO EXTEND INTO THE GROOVE OF THE FEMALE STRIP AND ENGAGE WITH THE SEALING STRIP, THE FEMALE STRIP HAVING AN UPWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING CONTINUOUS FLANGE AND ALSO AN OUTWARDLY AND UPWARDLY CONTINUOUS FLANGE, THE SAID FLANGES OF THE FEMALE STRIP FORMED OPPOSED CONTINUOUS GROOVES, THE FEMALE STRIP HAVING A PERIMETRIC GROOVE ON ITS OUTER SIDE BETWEEN THE FLANGES THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF BRACKET PLATES HAVING UPPER AND LOWER EDGE PORTIONS EXTENDING INTO THE OPPOSED GROOVES OF THE FEMALE STRIP, AND RESILIENT TONGUE MEANS ON THE BRACKET PLATE EXTENDING INTO THE PERIMETRIC GROOVE OF THE FEMALE STRIP, A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGES ON EACH OF THE BRACKET PLATES, AND ADJUSTABLE CLAMPING MEANS MOUNTED ON THE FLANGES OF THE BRACKET PLATES, THE CLAMPING MEANS HAVING HOOKS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE FLANGE OF THE MALE STRIP. 